Miraval Is My Happy Place

Sometimes you need to get out of the rat race. Out of the hustle and bustle of your day to day. Out of the city, and into the great outdoors, to a place where you can breathe fresh air, appreciate nature, and reconnect with yourself. So often we need to have these kinds of experiences, but rarely do we actually get to enjoy them. And it almost never happens that you go to a place that’s entirely devoted to beauty, self love, and self discovery.

I recently had the opportunity of a lifetime to do just that, when my incredible friends at Clarins took me along with them to the Miraval Spa, outside of Tucson, Arizona.

It’s like being inside a postcard.

Basically, paradise is real, it’s outside of Tucson Arizona, and I visited there for two blissful, incredible days. Let me tell you about how absolutely amazing this experience was.

I wish you could see my face better so you could see how very happy I am to be there in this picture.

Miraval is more than a luxury spa, it’s a facility that takes a holistic approach to wellness and happiness. You can come to Miraval and just relax and be pampered with the finest of Clarins beauty products (that’s right, many of the treatments at Miraval exclusively use Clarins). You can come to Miraval when you’re a postcard from the edge and need to get back in touch with your emotional core – their equine therapy is renowned for its simple effectiveness, and many celebrities have visited this place to work with horses and participate in sessions at Miraval. You can go there and be active, and hike in some of the most beautiful terrain you’ve ever seen. The experience truly is what you make of it.

I chose to go the rest and relaxation route. Can you blame me?

 

 

The entrance to the Miraval Life In Balance Spa. That symbol to the left is meant to represent the gate to wellness.

 

This beautiful woman with me is Lead Aesthetician Kim Kelder and she gave me the BEST FACIAL EVER. She was so gentle and careful and professional and PERFECT. While Kim was giving me this epic and amazing facial, I asked her about her celebrity clients and she told me that she gives OPRAH her facials when she visits Miraval. I can TOTALLY understand why. Kim is incredible. Do you see my skin in this photo? OK THEN.

I’m trying to upkeep this look with the Clarins products she recommended for me — the gentle foaming cleanser, brightening exfoliator (once a week), the intensive brightening smoothing serum, UV Plus Day Screen SPF 40, and the intensive brightening mask once a week for my hyperpigmentation issues.

This is me in the spa room about to have the hydrating body peel and wrap, which was to die for.

I wish I could tell you more about exactly what was done, but I fell asleep so completely that I just hope my snoring didn’t freak out the aesthetician. I was out COLD. She lulled me into a state of extreme relaxation. I know at the end of the treatment she rubbed me down with Clarins moisture-rich body lotion and my skin was like BUTTER afterwards.

 

Wall of Clarins products in the spa store.

 

Everywhere you look, there are enormous crystals and beautiful displays. The spa was designed by Mithun Architects and Clodagh Design and everything is intended to bring the outside in, and to incorporate nature and inspiring energy throughout the space. It is glorious.

 

Throughout the property there are beautiful streams and waterfalls, and green spaces with bunnies hopping around. It’s like Never Never Land is in the desert.

Hello, bunnies!

View en route to the restaurant.

The food at Miraval is on a whole ‘nother LEVEL. Everything is intended for maximum deliciousness and maximum nutrition. Everything is labeled and served in appropriate, perfect portion sizes. During the day I practically binged on green juices made fresh at the juice bar, and fresh fruit from the breakfast buffet. Chef Chad Luethje is all about food that’s fresh, high quality, seasonal, and local. He’s authored the Miraval cookbook, Mindful Eating. I got to learn about his cooking philosophy when I enjoyed the  Chef’s Table Dining Experience with some of the bloggers on this magical trip.

Photo courtesy of Brush Beauty. And in the photo here I’m seated with fellow bloggers Tami of Fete a Fete, Julia Dalton-Brush of Brush Beauty (she blogs at Bloginity), and Romy of Romy Raves. During the Chef’s Table, the Chef takes you on an incredible tour of the kitchen, and you get to eat at a table in the kitchen, and watch the staff prepare your meal. It was amazing. I believe our waitress was named Fernanda and she was SUCH a sweetheart. And the photo in the top right is the soy caramel ice cream ball, covered in pralines. It’s 100% dairy free. I can’t stop thinking about it.

One of the highlights of the Miraval trip was spending time with the awesome folks of Clarins and learning more about their most popular products and their upcoming releases.

I don’t want to get into too much detail now but there are two products in these photos that DEMAND stand alone reviews. So keep a look out for those.

Since my trip to Arizona, I’ve been a BUSY blogger on the go. It’s been a whirlwind of trip after trip after trip with hardly any room to breathe in between. I’ve been thinking fondly back to my experience at a place where it’s all about having room and time to breathe and be free.

If you’re looking for THE ideal place to get away from it all, I’d definitely recommend Miraval. I’m so happy that I even know it exists. Whenever I feel super stressed out, even thinking back to the Miraval experience takes my blood pressure down a notch or two. I need to go back!

Thank you Clarins for including me on this amazing press experience.